When asked about his outstanding performance on the ice, Wayne Gretzky replied, “A good hockey player plays where the puck is. A great hockey player plays where the puck is going to be.”
Where is your business focusing? I’ve found that one of the most powerful practices as an entrepreneur is to regularly spend time away from my office and my daily tacticals every month to dream a little and to envision my company 1, 3, 5 years into the future. At LeapZone, Margarita and I spend at least 1 day a month, away from the office, to stay connected and stay aligned with what makes us and keeps us great.
Here is what we normally keep an eye on.
1. Our Brand Foundation: We religiously stay connected with our values, purpose, brand promise, x-factor and unique selling proposition to make sure that we are in alignment.
2. Our Systems: We constantly look for ways to refining and simplify our systems and client touch points to make sure that we are efficient and consistent. People want to seamless and consistent experiences.
3. Our Auto-Pilot: We always look for ways to simplify, eliminate or automate all of our re-occurring tasks where ever possible.
Every time I take time away to “fly into the future” to look at my business from a bird’s eye view, it helps me look at my business from an entrepreneur’s perspective instead of a technician lost in a sea of TO DOs. It makes it easier for me to stay connected to my present purpose allowing me to better push through obstacles while keeping an eye on the big picture.
Spend some time in the future and you’ll be able to “skate to where the puck is going to be!”